My son has had a cough for 5 days,doc said use inhaler, he's feeling worse,can I give him BactrimDS?

Looking on the internet it states the Bactrim I have is good for bronchitis, the dosage I have is 160/800mg, I have enough for 10 days, 2 x's day, is this doage too strong for him? He weighs 135lb's, he's 15yrs old, thanks

Responses (3)

AN

Anonymous20 Mar 2011

Are you sure he is not allergic to sulfa, many people are and bactrim is sulfa. If you do decide to give it to him, monitor him very closely for signs of allergy. If his tongue, throat, lips swell or he starts having difficulty breathing, discontinue and call the doctor or take him to the ER. He should be big enough to take that amount, I just worry he might be allergic.

Pattishan is right is he allergic to Bactrim or any thing that has Sulfa in it if so this would be very risky, it wouldn't hurt to talk with his doctor and just explain his symptoms and at the same time clarify the dose you have, better safe than to have problems. P.S. I am not saying that this antibiotic is the wrong thing I would just feel better if you discusses this with his physician

Prescribing Bactrim (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim) tablets in the absence of a proven or strongly suspected bacterial infection or a prophylactic indication is unlikely to provide benefit to the patient and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

That being shared, the usual adult dosage in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis is 1 BACTRIM DS (double strength) tablet. So if you decide to go ahead with the antibiotic, one a day is appropriate dose and needs to be a course of 14 days.

I usually lean towards the side of natural supplements and healthy foods first; however, I've seen him get worse since the doctor visit Thursday. His phlegm is now green and he's achey, which to me would imply an infection. Thanks for your input!! I'll go with the one every 24 hours and watch him. He hasn't been allergic to sulfa in the past but I'll keep an eye on him for symptoms.

In my experience, green nasal discharge is more indicative of a virus. Bacterial infections will usually produce a yellow drainage. You dont want to put someone on an antibiotic that wasnt prescribed for them. Like Laurie said you have the incidence of develping drug resistant bacteria. If you have had this liquid for a while it is no good after 14 days of being mixed.

As stated, it's Bactrim DS, actually it's the generic for Bactrim DS, the actual name is Sulfamethoxazole-tmp-DS-tabitp. They come in liquid or pill form, this is pills. My husband was given the RX to take only if he needed them. He did not. They are only one week old. I don't usually switch antibiotics without a doctors input but felt I needed too. That's why I posted my questions for additional input. Thanks everyone for your input.